Alan Grayson

Thanks to El Nino, the upper-atmospheric wind phenomenon that forms every three to five years, no named tropical storms have appeared more than a third of the way through the 2009 hurricane season.

El Nino’s sooner-than-expected development has disrupted the formation of thunderstorms in the Atlantic Ocean that can quickly turn into hurricanes. It also had prompted storm forecasters to scale back predictions.

That insight comes courtesy of scientists in the Rocky Mountains, who have long contributed to preparing Floridians for Mother Nature’s fury.

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson wants more of that research done closer to home. The Orlando Democrat has proposed – and gotten assurances – for a state-of-the-art $50 million meteorological research site in Central Florida whose main mission would be to improve understanding of hurricane formation and behavior.

The commitment Grayson received from the House leadership and the Obama administration appears to settle the question of whether the weather facility comes to pass.

But some experts wonder exactly what such a facility would do, especially given the amount of current or planned storm research.

Much of the nation’s knowledge about hurricanes comes from a spot in the foothills of the Rockies: Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Colorado State became the nucleus for storm research in 1960, when the late Herbert Riehl, a renowned storm expert, set up shop there, said Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at the university.

Other scientists shortly followed, including William Gray, who now leads a team of scientists who each year predict the hurricane activity relied upon by residents and government officials in Florida.

Gray’s team has issued those forecasts since 1984, said Klotzbach.

Grayson, whose district includes much of eastern Marion County including Silver Springs Shores, eastern Ocala and Fort McCoy, convinced House leaders to keep the hurricane item in the chamber’s budget during the June debate on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, known as the cap-and-trade bill.

The wild card is whether the Senate will retain the facility in its budget.

Grayson has said he believes it will remain because the idea is supported by President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. He recently reiterated that position, noting that the facility is listed in the 1,400-page cap-and-trade bill.

“When the president and the House speaker say it’s going to happen, it’s probably going to happen,” Grayson said in a recent interview.

Grayson’s initial announcement drew some fire.

The Orlando Sentinel editorial page blasted it as a “Category 5 waste” that Congress should reject. The paper argued that Grayson, who indicated the center could be affiliated with the University of Central Florida, was “offering pork when the school needs chicken,” meaning research money for fields such as alternative fuels and biomedical studies.

The paper also criticized Grayson for selling his vote on the energy bill – an allegation he has denied.

Some experts either declined to comment on the plan, or wondered what it would do that is not already being done.

Grayson has maintained the new facility, which could be a source of international study on hurricanes, is needed because the government spends just $2 million a year on hurricane research.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates the National Hurricane Center in Miami, say the total spent on hurricane-related expenses is hard to pin down.

The costs include aircraft operations, research, satellite operations and weather forecast offices – all of which conduct hurricane-related missions but aren’t solely dedicated to that all year long.

They estimate the agency’s overall hurricane-related expenditures run $300 million a year.

But much of that goes for other purposes or falls outside the scope of what Grayson proposes.

For example, the National Hurricane Center costs $6.9 million a year, but that is strictly for operations done to monitor and report on hurricanes. The center does not do research, officials say.

Jana Goldman, spokeswoman for NOAA, said the agency did not have a position on Grayson’s request.

NOAA records, though, indicate the agency seeks $17 million in next year’s budget for the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project, a multiyear effort that improves hurricane forecasts and warning accuracy. That amount is up $13 million over current funding.

NOAA also wants $10 million for the hurricane division of its Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office, which is up $1 million over the current amount.

Klotzbach opted not to comment at length because he did not want to get entangled in a political debate.

“The more people doing research, the better,” he observed. “But perhaps the money could be spent helping the centers that already do it.”

A Los Angeles Times article on Sunday illustrated how much research is going on.

For example, Florida State University has utilized computer modeling to improve accuracy of hurricane predictions. Scientists in Tallahassee have done so by re-forecasting storm seasons from 1986 through 2005, the Times reported.

The University of Miami is planning to build a $48 million complex – $15 million of which came through a federal grant – to study the effect of hurricane winds battering coastal structures. In a separate program, Florida International University also plans to install a simulator capable of producing 130-mph winds.

Peter B. Ortner, director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami, noted in an interview that his school – in partnership with the universities of Georgia and Oklahoma – is close to winning an award for a $5 million federally funded center that would analyze the effect of wind and water.

The initiative would focus on understanding how hurricanes intensify, but would not involve constructing a new building to house scientists.

Ortner acknowledged research gaps exist that need to be filled.

For instance, he said, forecasters would like to gain knowledge on better communicating storm information to the public and studying how to move people quickly out of the way. That would aid planning and disaster response efforts.

Grayson has said he envisions the Orlando facility providing real-time information to the public and the media to assist with preparations.

Ortner added that there is a “large amount” of research that must be done on understanding intensification of storms, in addition to what his facility might do.

And scientists could benefit if there was better integration among the current research centers.

Beyond that, however, he was puzzled why a new facility would be located in Orlando, when researchers, in Florida at least, have decided Miami is the hub for that.

“It’s not clear where this plays into that. Would they try to move things? That would be counterproductive,” Ortner said. “We need more money, but we don’t need another facility.”

I have read many interesting letters from people in support of a national or socialistic healthcare plan. One has to ponder, what would the Founders want? Interestingly enough we know what they wanted. We can look to our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for guidance.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government”

I support Adam Putnam’s stance on the healthcare issue. He has stated in another area newspaper that he supports a “Free Market System”. I believe the founders would support his position as well.

What is it going to take for people to start realizing that the Government is not the answer to our problems? Government overstepping its boundaries is the problem. When we stop taking planks from the Communist Manifesto and applying them to our lives our society will begin to heal!

It is pointless to call the current measure Health Care Reform. When has Government involvement in the Private Sector ever made anything more efficient or cost effective? I believe this Reform move is more of a power grab that will haunt future generations of Americans.

Dennis Ross

The Following was a blog entry on Dennis Ross’ Campaign Site http://www.electdennisross.com ———-

Audit the Federal Reserve?  A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 75% of Americans favor auditing the Federal Reserve.  Opponents fear politicizing the actions of a Central Bank.  Both sides have very real and very legitimate concerns, but I believe transparency outweighs potential politicization.

In theory, the “Fed” as it is called, has noble goals.  Stabilizing the money supply, ensuring banks are stable, and engaging foreign monetary and banking institutions for the good of the global economy.  In short, the Fed controls the money supply.  But with such power, the Fed has also been given unbelievable authority while maintaining virtual anonymity.  In and of itself, unchecked authority and lack of transparency are a recipe for disaster.

The great Milton Friedman once said, “The Federal Reserve definitely caused the Great Depression by contracting the amount of money in circulation by one-third from 1929 to 1933.”  A fantastic interview he gave can be read here.  That, in a nutshell, is what the Fed does; expand and contract the money supply.  Recently, however, the Fed has intervened to “bail out” firms such as AIG and Bear Stearns.  (For a good article on why the current crisis is not a liquidity crisis and is more a perception crisis, see Newsweek here)  The decisions of the Fed affect all Americans as we have seen in our current recession.  Surely, you may ask, something with that much power is open to the taxpayer.  Unfortunately, the answer is no and that is why more than 282 Members of Congress have signed on to HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, and, if I am elected, why I will sign on as well.

Now, many argue that such an audit is unneeded.  They argue that the Fed is already audited by the GAO, although their open market committee is not.  This is to prevent politicizing monetary policy.  However, in such times as these, when trillions of dollars of debt are being added to our children and grandchildren, accountability and not a blank checkbook is needed.  Taxpayers deserve to know not only WHAT is going in and out of the Fed, but more importantly, WHY.  Provide the nation the reasons behind their actions.  Who knows, a majority of Americans might agree that these steps were needed, but they may not.

In the end, auditing an entity with the power to punish our children with mountains of debt, is a moral obligation of this generation.  While the Fed deserves its audit, so does Congress.  Spending, both under the current administration and the former administration, and under the current Congress and the former Congress, remains a disgrace.  Market manipulation through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, social engineering of the housing market by Barney Frank, and now, talk of socialized health care, are just more examples of a city and a group of people disconnected from reality.

Today, when Congress wants to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of private jets, we, the taxpayers have to ask ourselves how much more can we take?  In 2010, let us not forget.  I have not forgotten, nor will I ever.  It is time to take our Country back.

Adam Putnam

Despite support from food-industry allies such as Rep Jim Costa and Rep. Adam Putnam, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 failed to reach the supermajority needed for passage in the House of Representatives today.

The yeas were 280 and the nays were 150, but the two-thirds supermajority (287) was not reached to pass the bill under a suspension of the rules that limited debate to 40 minutes.

Patrick Delaney, communications manager for the United Fresh Produce Association,Washington, D.C. said United Fresh was exploring the reasons why the bill failed and what the next steps might be for the House food safety legislation.

Opposition from the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agriculture organizations that were wary of Food and Drug Administration encroachment may have cost the bill some votes, though House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., worked with House Energy and Commerce leaders to smooth over worries that the FDA would seek to regulate grain and livestock producers.

While the bill drew some opposition from Republicans in House debate, members of both parties praised the bill as a bipartisan product.

Putnam, R-Fla., praised the effort of Costa, D-Calif., in helping to put together a bill that brings together America’s farmers ranchers and consumers. However, Putnam said a number of features of the bill — particularly language relating to the FDA’s power to quarantine food and mandate traceability — need further work.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the legislation deserves support.

“The process is fair, the product is fair, I strongly encourage a yes vote,” he said during the debate.

“This bill begins a long task of rectifying decades of neglect by updating FDA’s ancient tools outdated mandate,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

DeLauro said the bill gives enhance the agency ability to prevent contamination of food by giving the agency the ability to inspect the highest risk facilities once every six months to a year rather than once a decade.

She also said it also enhances reporting requirements for companies and establishing performance standards for fighting food based pathogens.

“This bill is a strong solid first step in creating a food safety system that can protect American families from contaminated food,” DeLauro said.

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, said that he objected to the fact the House Agriculture Committee was not involved in putting together the bill and stated his opposition to it.

We did a piece on this so called “Food Safety Bill” not to long ago.  We received several messages from Congressman Putnam’s office regarding the story.  It seems that exemptions were added to the bill.  You can find our original post here

TALLAHASSEE – Florida should look at California’s landmark bipartisan agreement to permit oil drilling in state waters as a way to put people to work and help fund vital public services in the face of a historic budget deficit, a coalition of advocates said today. As part of the innovative agreement, California will reap a $100 million advance royalty payment and more than $1.8 billion in future revenue generated from a single oil platform.

EnergyFLA, a coalition of groups that support opening up Florida’s Gulf Coast waters to energy exploration, says this agreement demonstrates the tremendous potential revenues Florida could gain from tapping the vast oil and natural gas reserves in the state’s offshore waters.

Economist Hank Fishkind, principal of Fishkind & Associates, projects that Florida’s revenues from authorizing the exploration and production of the state’s offshore oil and natural gas reserves could range from $2.2 billion a year to as much as $12 billion a year.

In addition to state revenues, offshore drilling and production could add more than $7 billion a year to Florida’s economy and create more than 40,000 jobs, according to Fishkind’s conservative baseline estimates. Higher projections show a Florida-based energy sector would grow the state’s economy by $41 billion a year and create 231,000 new Florida jobs.

“California is demonstrating the potential benefits of offshore production to the state by reaping nearly $2 billion from a single platform. Florida could easily surpass that amount based on what we know about our reserves,” Fishkind said. “With one out of every 10 Floridians unemployed, we would be foolish to ignore the economic potential of Florida’s vast natural resources.”

California’s proposal allows the state to avoid deep cuts in social service programs proposed in the face of a $26 billion state deficit. Florida’s state budget has faced similar challenges in recent years, as the economic downturn has drastically reduced state revenue.

For more information visit www.EnergyFLA.com.

Bill Nelson

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats this afternoon narrowly sank a measure that would have allowed gun owners with concealed weapons permits to carry firearms across state lines. Joining them was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, who bucked a home state with a history of permissive gun laws.

The vote attracted the usual crossfire from the NRA and gun control groups, but even the Libertarian Party took aim at the 39 senators, including Nelson, who helped stop it.

“We look forward to holding those 39 senators accountable for once again treating America’s gun owners as second-class citizens,” said party spokesman Donny Ferguson in a statement. “America’s 90 million gun owners vote, and you can bet Libertarian candidates will be discussing their unabashed support of the Second Amendment.”

A spokesman for Nelson issued this statement from the senator: “Sen. Nelson thinks states and not the federal government should set their own standards in deciding who gets permits.  And the federal government shouldn’t then force a state with a tougher requirement to honor the less stringent requirements of another state, for example.”

For this question we sat down with Rep. Seth McKeel of Lakeland to have basic questions answered.  Below is the video

WASHINGTON (8 July) – During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) questioned FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate on how prepared Florida, and specifically, the Tampa Bay area is for a major hurricane.

Recently a report published by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council titled “Economic Analysis of a Hurricane Event in Hillsborough County, Florida”suggested that a category 3 storm, which is considered major, could result in nearly $20 billion in estimated property damage in the first year after the storm. In addition, the report projected 150,000 job losses and a $9 billion dollar decrease in gross regional product.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Bilirakis asked about the most effective actions families and individuals can take to help federal and state emergency management officials in their efforts to minimize life and property loss that could result from a major hurricane.

“One of my greatest concerns during hurricane season is that a major storm will hit the Tampa Bay area, resulting in loss of life and wide-scale property damage that could cripple our state’s economy,” said Bilirakis. “What are the most effective actions my constituents can take to help federal and state emergency management officials in their efforts to minimize life and property loss that could result from a major hurricane?”

Fugate emphasized that the general public must play an active part in the effort to prepare and respond to a hurricane by having a plan in place, being familiar with first aid, and finally checking on neighbors to determine if they need assistance. He also stressed the importance of heeding calls by local officials to evacuate promptly in the event of a major storm, noting that Tampa Bay area residents would face significant traffic congestion in an evacuation scenario.

“Since this hurricane season has already begun, it is imperative that we all do our best to prepare for what is expected to be a ‘near-normal’ storm year,” Bilirakis added after the hearing. “Disaster readiness should not solely lie on the shoulders of the government. Individuals must properly prepare themselves for the worst case scenario.”

Marlene O'Toole

If you have been living under a rock lately you may have missed the push by states to get 10^th amendment resolutions passed.  These are to remind the Federal Government of States Rights and State Sovereignty.

Most recently Montana passed a fantastic piece of legislation called the Montana Firearms Freedom Bill.  What does this bill do?  Simple, It tells the Federal Government that any firearms or ammunition created, built or sold in the state of Montana are not subject to Federal Legislation.

Representative O’Toole has introduced such legislation in the Florida House.  Her bill HB-21 is almost the same as the Montana Bill.  When I called her office for comment she was out of town.  But I will be following up with her about the bill.  I hope everyone interested in the bill in the State of Florida will call all of his or her Representatives in the State House to support this bill.

Also there is a rumor that Sen. Carey Baker is going to introduce a companion bill in the Florida Senate.  Sen. Baker is currently running for Commissioner of Agriculture in Florida.  This office oversees concealed weapons permits among other things.

This will be a great issue to watch and hopefully get passed!

Charlie Crist

The city of Weston and seven other cities announced they’re suing the state (Gov. Charlie Crist, etc) over the growth-management act, which they say violates constitutional rules limiting the enactment of laws to encompass one subject. They also claim the Legislature failed to follow proper procedures when it cost-shifted state responsibilities on to local governments. In a press release, the plaintiffs claim the “developer friendly” act “was designed to shift some of the burdens of development from developers to local government taxpayers.”

We had a chance to speak with the City Manager John Flint of Weston this morning about this.  Here is what he had to say:

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The other plaintiffs: Village of Key Biscayne, Town of Cutler Bay, Lee County, City of Deerfield Beach, City of Miami Gardens, City of Fruitland Park, City of Parkland.